But for Blues this time round, they can go to south west London in the knowledge that things aren’t quite what they used to be.

And with nothing to lose as the underdogs, Chris Hughton’s side – backed by 3,000 fans – will be able to enjoy the occasion of the fifth-round FA Cup tie.

It would be wrong to say Chelsea are in crisis. But this is certainly not the machine-like Chelsea of old as rookie manager Andre Villas-Boas tries to get a grip on things.

He described the performance in the 2-0 defeat at Everton last Saturday as Chelsea’s ‘worst of the season’.

The squad were hauled in the next day and the 34-year-old was criticised by his players over the tactics he employed at Goodison Park in a stormy training ground meeting.

Villas-Boas has also had to answer to owner Roman Abramovich, who was a conspicuous presence at their Cobham training HQ throughout the previous week.

The Portuguese maintains he has the full support of the Russian billionaire. But there is no question that the heat is on Villas-Boas and also his players.

Chelsea, who have now dropped to fifth in the Premier League, have a huge game on the Tuesday after Blues’ visit, at Napoli in the Champions League last 16.

Captain John Terry has been struggling with a knee problem but is expected to be fit. Gary Cahill, who notoriously rejected a £5 million move from Villa to Blues in the January 2008 transfer window, is not cup-tied.